Hyper Light Drifter - Preview - Game news at Chat Place

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Hyper Light Drifter - Preview

Added: 09.10.2014 1:57 | 7 views | 0 comments

Journey through an eerie and mysterious world. Last September indie developer Heart Machine pitched on Kickstarter, requesting a modest $27,000 to fund the game. Its beautiful art style and reverence for 8-bit and 16-bit classics immediately attracted attention—one month later it was successfully funded at a grand total of $645,158. Obviously the scope and vision of the project adjusted accordingly. Dates and release windows have shifted over the course of the year, but now Heart Machine has released a preview build to a wider audience. People who backed the project through Kickstarter or Humble Bundle can now play the game, myself included (I contributed through Humble Bundle). I was already excited about Hyper Light Drifter, but my anticipation has only increased after my hands-on time with it. Immediately Hyper Light Drifter grabs hold of the player's attention with its mysteriously futuristic aesthetic and moody soundtrack. The latter comes courtesy of Disasterpiece, composer of the 2012 indie hit . The visuals and music coalesce to establish distinct atmosphere and tone that both intrigues and unsettles. Hyper Light Drifter appears to be a world worth exploring, even if what awaits is darkness and despair. The air of mystery compliments the challenge of the combat, which touts depth in the face of simplicity. Players only need to focus on three main actions: attack, dodge, and shoot. But the way in which players link those three actions together proves key, as just a few hits will result in death. I died quite a few times while playing the preview build, but not once did I feel overly frustrated. Hyper Light Drifter strikes me as the kind of game that will fit well within our current difficulty renaissance, right alongside other indie games like . Projectiles also play a big role in the game, as players start off with a handy pistol and pick up other weapons along the way. I only found one additional weapon—a laser gun—but others exist in the preview build. In fact, there are quite a few secrets in the preview build I was unaware of until I did some research after my time with it. As a fan of the Souls series, I love when games allow players to make discoveries on their own and figure things out in creative ways. The fact that Hyper Light Drifter's short preview build hints at the same structure is impressive. If I had to nitpick and find a few faults with the preview build, I'd cite the ease in which players can fall off edges and the inconsistent performance. I'm of two minds when it comes to the former—on the one hand I like how the game emphasizes the importance of platforming, but I also had trouble locating edges. I understand the need for some kind of penalty—perhaps a loss of health a la —but immediate death seems a bit harsh. As for inconsistent performance, it appears the frame rate dips in spots and looks sluggish. It didn't run quite as well as I was expecting, but for all I know it's a problem isolated to the preview build. Despite those issues, I still had a great time playing Hyper Light Drifter. The preview build is just a small chunk of the full release, but it already hints at the fact that Heart Machine knows how to implement a strong combat system and craft a rich and detailed world. The end of 2014 is still a tenuous goal for the game's release, but it's more likely that Hyper Light Drifter will come out some time next year on PC first, followed by additional platforms.